Main Menu >  Plate Tectonics and Volcanoes  >  San Andreas Fault >  Transform Faults on the Sea Floor Most transform faults are found on the sea floor, joining spreading ridges—places where magma rises to form new oceanic crust. These ridges are discontinuous. Short segments of active ridge are connected by special faults called transform faults. New oceanic crust is created along each segment of a spreading ridge. On either side of the ridge crest, plates move apart. Between offset segments of the ridge, plates move past each other in opposite directions. The transform fault accommodates this relative motion.